Heimatfront Episode Five: The Red Tide
by CaptainDavidBlake
Summary: Eastern Germany, Late April, 1945 – A new foe descends upon Maria and her companions while the Battle for Berlin envelops the city in a storm of fire and death. As the German Army opens a corridor to allow their comrades and civilians to escape to the West, the girls and their friends form the 77th Panzergrenadiers will have to assist in holding the flank against impossible odds.
1. The Pravda Company

DISCLAIMER

1 - This is a fanwork made for fun and to spread the love for all things _Girls Und Panzer_ and History around. _Girls Und Panzer_ belongs to its legal owners, as well as its characters and story. Also the show is awesome and you should really buy the DVDs.

2 - I need to thank BlueJay62, F-14 Tomcat Lover, FenrirWolf, Karelwolf, Kite Tanril, Rogue Baron, Soviet Fox, Theralion,Yemi Hikari and the helpful guys at the Girls Und Panzer FaceBook group for all the help and support. The good parts of this fic only exist thanks to them. The bad parts, though, are all mine.

* * *

I

THE PRAVDA COMPANY

With their engines roaring as their tracks whined loudly, the armored vehicles entered the large open field that was the motor pool. Standing on a corner, the two girls clad in the green uniforms of the Red Army watched as the hectic formation of Soviet-build T-34s, American M3 half-tracks, and even Italian machines, passed by and sought for a place to park. On top of the vehicles they saw men with somber looks, some having just seen their first true fight.

"Captain Andropov's unit sure seems to have taken a beating," Lieutenant Yekaterina "Katyusha" Fiodorovna said.

"I've talked with some of the rearguard guys," First-Sergeant Nonna Artyomovna retorted, "it seems they have stumbled upon a Fascist tank unit equipped with Tigers."

Katyusha crossed her arms over her chest, standing on her toes for a moment as she contemplated her friend's words. "Whatever happened, the major won't like it."

"I sure wouldn't like to be in Andropov's skin right now."

Nonna's position was more than understandable. The Red Army didn't react well to failure. Even so, Katyusha couldn't help but grin at the perspective.

"Don't you know what this means, Nonna?" She uttered. "This is an opportunity for us."

The older teenager turned toward her fifteen years old commanding officer, her face a mask of incredulity. "Sometimes you scare me, Katyusha."

In spite of her words, the grin in Katyusha's pretty face remained in place. "Just wait and see."

While they talked, Captain Ivan Andropov descended from the command T-34. Major Ilyanovich was already there, hands on his hips, observing the other man with a stern look. The younger officer was trembling when he approached his commander. Swallowing dryly, he saluted.

"Comrade major," the captain muttered.

"Why are you here?" Ilyanovich queried. The other man hesitated, so he insisted, "I will repeat, comrade captain: why are you here and not in Felgentreu, reinforcing your position?"

"Comrade, the Fascists were waiting for us there. My men-"

Ilyanovic gave a step forward, his left hand motioning downward to point at the ground between the captain's feet.

"I've seen the report from the air regiment, captain! You were bested by a handful of old tanks in open ground! How do you explain that?"

The conversation was getting interesting in Katyusha's opinion. She walked forth, approaching the two other officers. Nonna followed suit but kept a respectful distance. Unaware of their movements, Ilyanovich kept chastising Andropov.

"It was an ambush, comrade major," the captain stammered, apparently shrinking in front of his superior's fury. "I didn't expect them to sacrifice their lesser units to draw us out."

"You should expect anything from the Nazis. You kill them, and you do it outright and brutally!" The major straightened, placing his arms behind his back. He now seemed a little calmer, but not by much. "Now, because of your failure the whole regiment will be diverted to take the miserable town you have failed to secure."

Now Katyusha could swear Andropov was about to faint. All color left his face and his eyes widened. She did not know what he had witnessed out there, but if the vehicles that had arrived with him were all that was left of his company, then that meant he had taken a proper pounding. As he hesitated to reply, she stepped in.

"Comrade Major?"

Ilyanovich turned around, glaring at the teenage girl as he did so.

"Comrade lieutenant," he grunted, almost as an afterthought. Katyusha didn't react, instead keeping her parade stance with feigned calm.

"Sir, I would like to volunteer Pravda Company to spearhead that mission," she declared.

"Now would you, Lieutenant Fiodorovna?" Ilyanovich mulled over the proposal for a moment. Although the major was known for his temper, the fact remained that he had a lot to contend with. The terms in which the offensive towards Berlin was launched basically put generals Zhukov, from the First Belorussian Front, and Konev, from the Second Ukrainian Front, in a race against each other. That meant that field commanders had to put up with both the well-entrenched German defenses and their own overly optimistic timetables.

In a word, there was not much time to lose, nor enough men to squander around in menial tasks. On the other hand, the regiment needed to capture that town to secure the flank, and she knew very well the depleted company under Andropov's command would never be able to complete that mission. Ilyanovich was about to send those men to their deaths out of pure spite. That's why she decided to insist.

"Pravda Company is ready and willing, sir. We would like to smack some Fascist skulls before this is all over with."

At this point Ilyanovich turned fully toward her. Very aware about how imposing his frame was compared to the short teenager's, he leaned forward, until his eyes almost met hers.

"Very well, Fiodorovna, I'll bring you along." Then he turned to Andropov. "Maybe you can show a few tricks to some of the other officers while you're at it."

Andropov's jaw dropped instantly. His eyes shifted to the girl, who now flashed a mischievous grin.

"S-sir? You'll bring the girls to the front?"

"Women have already fought and died for the Motherland, comrade captain. You should be more concerned with how your failure will look like in your service file. Consider this your opportunity to redeem yourself. Now go ready your men!"

Unwilling to face Ilyanovich's glare any longer, Andropov saluted and quite literally turned tail and ran for his life. Katyusha's grin grew wider as he did so. She could clearly see a promotion finally coming in for her. She only needed to take care of the Germans that would be waiting for her up ahead.

But Ilyanovich wasn't done yet. He turned back at her.

"Very well, you'll have what you want, little girl. Now do not fail me on this, or I'll send that pretty head of yours to Comrade Konev on a plate, is that clear?"

Katyusha straightened. "Crystal, comrade major."

"Good. Now go gather your people. You should be ready to depart at any moment."

With this said, the major walked away, giving the matter no more immediate thought. There were many more issues concerning him at the moment

"That went well," Nonna declared as she approached the young lieutenant.

"It went perfectly," Katyusha retorted, her grin never wavering. "Now we'll get to prove our worth to these jokers, Andropov included."

"You've heard what he said."

Katyusha turned around and started to stride down the motor pool. "I'm fully aware of what he said. But we won't fail. The Germans are collapsing all around us, and it won't be a couple of stragglers that will stand between us and our destiny."

"I thought our destiny was to fight and die for the Motherland."

The dry sarcasm didn't escape Katyusha, who spared an aside glance at her aide. They had known each other for years now, ever since they were just a part of the masses walking down the basin of the River Don to escape the fighting between the Red Army and the German invaders, four years ago. The orphan girls met each other and made a good team from the onset, with Katyusha showing a clear tendency to act, and pull others along with her, with Nonna's restrain being the balancing force that kept her ideas grounded. Together they had endured the long walk, surviving famine, disease, and even the dangers of being alone in such a tight cluster of despaired and opportunistic human beings.

Then they arrived at Stalingrad.

Their survival has always hinged on them depending on each other, and both were keenly aware of the fact. Which meant that Katyusha was uncommonly lenient to the humor of her aide compared to the ordinary Soviet officer. Then again, their company was all but ordinary.

"Hear, hear," she told Nonna, without slowing her stride. "Of course, I'm doing this for the Motherland." She looked over her shoulder to glance at Nonna. "But if we add a great victory to our file the better. Maybe that will guarantee some proper compensation when this is over with."

"So you're worried with your people's future. Nice to know that vengeance has nothing to do with it."

Katyusha snorted. "Don't be silly, Nonna. This is all about vengeance."

* * *

The current headquarters of the Pravda Company was set in a house deeper into the town. It was just a few minutes away from the motor pool, and the tank crews needed a place to rest, while the infantry needed a place to set their equipment.

Some of the unit's boys were at the entrance, smoking Lucky Strikes captured from the Germans. Funny how supplies and equipment tended to change hands so quickly in those frantic last days of the war. They were also talking to each other, ignoring the other Soviet troops walking back and forth, between the different buildings now used to accommodate the regiment. The few German civilians who stood there in face of the Soviet advance were also moving around, most of the times working for the invaders in one way of the other, further cluttering the roads.

Because of this the boys didn't notice the two girls approaching them until Nonna called out for them.

" _Smirno_!"

Recognizing the voice, the teenagers straightened, some even forgetting to take their cigarettes from their mouths, moving frantically to correct the mistake and give the lieutenant a proper salute. Katyusha kept her grin. Young and silly as those kids seemed at a first glance, the truth was that they weren't children anymore. The lumbering beast of an army that had crumbled under the German onslaught four years ago was no more, its weakest elements culled by the harsh reality of war. Those kids were now seasoned veterans, who barely remembered anything before the war and fought with a ferocity that put the adults to shame.

Being fifteen herself, Katyusha was no different. The only thing she could remember from before the war was the warm embrace of his father, the smell of her mother, and the smiles of her sisters, all of them lost in a single evening, when the Germans arrived at her village in the now distant Belorussia. That day Yekaterina died, and a demon was born.

Like the good soldiers they were, the teenage boys got out of the way to let her pass, and Katyusha opened the door unceremoniously, startling everyone on the living room on the other side. As she entered she quickly scanned the space. Some of the girls were on the farthest corner, talking while they drank some local brew from the same bottle. Some small groups of tankers and soldiers were spread around, and right in front of the door, propped on an old couch, was Sergeant Timur Pýotrovich Senk'ov.

As he saw Katyusha come in his thick mustache twisted, as he made something that could pass for a grin, while he pushed the scared German girl on his lap closer to him.

"Comrade lieutenant," he saluted, his hoarse voice echoing inside the room, getting the attention of almost everyone present. "It is a literal pleasure to see your face. Would like to join me and," he looked at the German, "what's your name, dear? Erika?" His gaze shifted back to Katyusha. "I think it's Erika."

Without a hint of vacillation, Katyusha got in parade stance and glared at the girl. "Out."

Senk'ov sighed but got the cue and tapped at the girl's cheek, forcing a desperate yelp out of her mouth. "She doesn't know a word of Russian, comrade lieutenant. _Geh weg_! _Sofort_!"

The girl understood his broken German and immediately got up. She passed by Katyusha, yelling something at the grizzled sergeant, before running out of the building.

"Nice one, that girl." Senk'ov said, eyeing Katyusha with an expression that gave no doubts about his thoughts and was way beyond mere insubordination. "You don't need to know the language to understand certain things, you know?"

"I'm well aware. Now stand in line, we have new orders, sergeant."

The veteran grimaced and moved uneasily over the sofa. "You know, my dear, I was starting to enjoy this spot."

Now that was pushing it too far. Katyusha lowered her chin, sparing the man a cold gaze, and gave a step forward. For his behavior she could have the man shot right there, but, then again, he was great at commanding the infantry troops in the field, and in pushing favors to get the company some of the best loot. She needed him, but she could also get rid of him if he started to become more trouble than he was worth.

"Fall in line."

She noticed Senk'ov passing his tongue over his teeth, his lips twisting into a forced grin. He got up, his almost two meters of height towering over the short teenage girl. She had to look up to lock her bright blue eyes on his dark-green irises. For a moment it was as if he was about to crash over Katyusha. Even Nonna subtly took her hand to her holster. Then the old sergeant grinned openly, his stance changing in an instant.

"Of course, comrade lieutenant!" he said with feigned joy. "I was just kidding!" He glanced at the infantrymen standing nearby. "We all need a moment of good humor in this forsaken front, don't we?"

His laugh echoed inside the room, and some of the troopers chuckled along, albeit nervously. Senk'ov then turned around and started to issue orders, telling the soldiers to go get their gear and the sergeants to gather around the table on the other side of the living room. As he did so, he still spared a glance at Katyusha, observing her lean figure, before focusing completely on his job.

"So, tell me again why we don't have him shot?" Nonna questioned in a low voice.

"We need his experience. Don't you forget what he did for us back in Stalingrad."

"He's getting bolder, though."

Katyusha shrugged, and then holstered the pistol she had hidden behind her back for the whole time.

"If he ever stops being useful to me…" her voice trailed off as she stalked to the center of the room. The troops were already moving back and forth, pilling crates of ammunition and checking their weapons once more. Meanwhile the sergeants of the company were already gathered around the table, the infantrymen on one side, and the tank commanders, mostly women, on the other. Katyusha pulled a map from under the table and spread it over the top.

"So, what are we going to do, comrade lieutenant?" Sergeant Nastia Markova asked. Katyusha grinned at the older woman. Nastia was probably the best tank commander under her, a young woman who lost her husband, a soldier in the Red Army, in the fighting around Moscow back in '41. Having lost her reason to live, she sold everything she had to buy a T-34 and join the army. But no one would take such a young widow seriously, until she crossed paths with Katyusha and Nonna in Stalingrad, and quickly became the first recruit in their impromptu tank company.

"Well, it seems Andropov screwed up again, and we were asked to clean up his mess."

"So, they finally decided to call in the real soldiers?" one of the boys on the left side of the table said, flashing a wolfish grin at the lieutenant.

"Did you have any doubts, Dima?"

The young sergeant, just a couple years older than Katyusha herself, had joined the company just before the start of Operation Bagration. Like most reserves, he had a rough time during his first few weeks, but a few examples of surprising courage had been enough to earn him a place in the company. Senk'ov himself had asked Katyusha to promote him to his current post, so he could have him leading men into battle. Knowing very well not to waste talents, she had followed up with the advice.

"I like your enthusiasm! Recalls me of my younger years." Senk'ov leaned over the table. "Did the Germans remember to give a name to this place where we are to kill them next?"

"Indeed they have." The grin in Katyusha's face grew. She grabbed a combat knife that someone had left on the table and stabbed it at a small point on the map. "Felgentreu is where we'll go. And there we shall bury the Fascists!"

* * *

 **Author's notes:**

Well, this has been quite the hiatus. Sorry for that folks. I must admit the guilt is at least partially mine. Whilst this story has been more or less set in stone back in 2014 or 2015, I haven't had as much time for fanfic writing as I had in the past. Moving to a new house and relying more on oneself does that, I guess. However, it has always been my intention to go down this rabbit hole to its very end – it is the time for deliverance that has been eluding me.

This episode is not truly finished yet, but I do know where I intend to go with it, so I decided to start posting chapters immediately – you people have been waiting for too long already. The WWII Mondays from yore will not happen again, instead I will simply post chapters as I finish them. This means that I will post in a less regular fashion, but at least it will help me double my efforts to deliver.

As always, thank you all for the continuous support and the kind comments. They have helped me in keeping this project going. Knowing that people appreciate one's work and leave all sorts of comments, either positive or constructive criticism, pushes me to improve and make this the best story it can be.

Thank you and thank you again.

And now that Katyusha is definitively on the scene, let's see what the future holds for Maria and her friends.


	2. Abandon All Hope

**Author's Notes:**

I have been apologizing to you, dear reader, and to the people who have been helping me through this journey, and I think maybe I have been overdoing that. In all honesty, it is taking me way too long to finish this project (it is at this point around 3 years overdue – maybe that is a lesson to take on excessive ambition). Real life has been throwing some curveballs onto me, with my day job and other outstanding responsibilities robbing me time from my fanfiction writing. However, such things that are out of my control are not the only culprits. I have some responsibility myself.

There are several things that sometimes seem to conspire against me. For starters my intention of making this historical fiction. Albeit I have failed here and there, and have been solidly attempting to make this at least believable and imbued with the spirit of the time period – the attitudes, the perceptions, and so on – I still go back and rewrite some chapters several times in order to guarantee that it is as historical correct as I can make it.

I have also been trying to make combat realistic and to try to write on how things were or how they could have happened, given the circumstances. Realistic combat is challenging, especially when one's aware that there is still research to be had. I started to write this as a spur of the moment thing, a labor of love for the show and the topic, and the more I get to know, the more I realize how much I need to know.

Finally, the psychological effect of the situations on the characters is something I have always tried to weight in. This last part is probably the greatest cause for the slow development of the story, especially Episode 5. The characters are treading on a thin line, and if this was a different project maybe I would have time skipped to where I want the characters to be for the finale. However, I decided I would follow the general plot of the original TV show, and I think that if I skipped Katyusha it would be a disservice to my readers. Speaking of the devil, that girl has also been challenging me somewhat, as she is quite different from her original version, but I still want to keep the sympathetic ball rolling back and forth, like I did before.

Anyhow, I think I have taken too much of your time. Thank you for sticking with me on this project, and I hope you keep enjoying it.

Without further ado, let's get back into it.

* * *

II

ABANDON ALL HOPE

Her nightmares were changing.

The bombers were still there, droning high above in the night sky, searchlights cutting through the darkness and the raising smoke, highlighting the massive aircraft. But they were just passing through, wave after wave after wave, as if suspended in a heavenly treadmill. A siren screamed in the distance, and the humming of that infinitude of engines became unbearable.

Maria stood alone in the dark streets of an empty city. Around her there were only tall walls of concrete, without windows, without doors, and strangely thin posts with dim lights on their tops stood on the corners. The scared girl glanced around, holding to her shoulders as the cold assaulted her. Her faint moans echoed, returning louder than when they left her mouth.

"Hello? Someone's there?"

There wasn't a single soul in sight. Maria was total and completely alone. Her heart ran faster, and she tried to swallow her spit, only then noticing it got stuck in a lump in her throat. It was uncomfortable, and yet somehow, she could breathe.

A loud growling came from behind her. The girl turned around, and her eyes widened as she saw the angular Cromwell tank rolling slowly out of an alley. The large vehicle emerged completely, and then turned over a track to face her. Its glacis opened wide to reveal a large mouth, with sharp teeth and a big red tongue, drool dripping from the metallic lips.

It roared.

Maria screamed and turned around, springing into a full dash, yelling on the top of her lungs. The beast roared again and hurled itself forward to follow, the tracks wailing furiously as they skidded over the asphalt.

Hopelessness mixed with a visceral sense of horror stirred Maria's entrails and made her want to puke. Somewhere deep down another sensation emerged, also a familiar one, a notion that she could simply give up, allow herself to fade from the world and fall into the endless slumber of true peace.

"No!"

The monster was now closer. Maria could feel its breath washing over her, the moist of its mouth spurting over her shirt and hair. She couldn't escape, no matter how fast she ran.

Then she saw the alley to her left. She turned, almost falling over in the process, but kept running anyway. Behind her the monster spun, raising a track of the road and bending in the middle, as though it was made of flesh and bone. The track returned to the ground with a thump and then it pounced into the alley. It squeezed its wide body between the narrow concrete walls, advancing pugnaciously after its prey.

With shock, Maria realized there was a dead end just ahead. A wave of unfiltered panic took hold of her, but then she noticed that the wall was not that high. Without losing momentum, she jumped onto the wall, holding to the top, and then planted her feet against the concrete, pushing herself over the edge.

The monster was now upon her and raised its mouth to bite at her feet. But Maria was faster, the thick red tongue lashed at her ankle and covered it in sticky transparent drool, but then she was already falling on the other side.

Everything disappeared as she reached the ground. There was nothing around her on the other side, only pure blackness. Maria held her hands close to her chest, trembling in face of the void that engulfed her world. Feeling lost and scared, she gave a step forward. Like that, all of reality changed once again. The darkness remained, but now she could see several shapes spread across the ground, surrounded by pools of oily red liquid.

Comprehension surged through her, the uniforms in the bodies becoming discernible. They were all different, gray and green, German, American, British and Soviet. All of those dead men surrounded her, and she fell on her knees. In the distance the fires that consumed Dresden were now visible, the scent of burnt wood and concrete drilling through her nose.

With an infernal racket, tanks rolled through the scene, right in front of her, crushing the bodies under their tracks. There were two lines of them, simple dark shadows against the fires in the backdrop. Their guns vomited thunder and shells, and some were hit, their hulls being torn asunder and spewing blood and gut all over the landscape. The injured vehicles cried in pain, with all too human voices.

One tank, seemingly a _Panzer IV_ , approached Maria from her right, coming to a halt just a few meters away, as if it was trying to shield her from the battle. She looked up, and a round tore through the turret, cutting it in half. Warm blood poured over Maria, covering her in crimson. In that moment she knew her time had come, she just needed to let it happen.

Time to die.

When she opened her eyes she was trembling, her sweat freezing in the cold atmosphere of East Germany. It took her a heartbeat to notice she was laying down in her tent, the daylight passing through the canvas. The strange sensations from the nightmare started to wane off right away, but the throbbing fear remained.

"You're awake?" Ysabelle's voice reached her, and Maria turned her head to glance at her friend. She seemed terribly concerned. "I'm so sorry, but _Herr_ Messner wants to talk to you."

From the frying pan and into the fire. It was time to get back to the war tearing the world apart. She felt her limbs numb, her body still begging for some more rest. But there had been little time for that, and she only managed to get those occasional naps before forcing herself back into service, into the command of the Baderberg Tank Squadron, for the sake of her countrymen.

But now even that noble notion seemed hollow, even wrong. Although she felt like she needed time to think about all she had experienced and learned since she joined the fighting, there was no time for that. Even the frugal moments of rest insisted in making themselves useless, ushering in nightmares that made her get up more worn-out than when she laid down.

"It is fine," Maria replied. Her voice was coarse, and her throat dry like sandpaper. "Can you me get some water, Ysabelle? Please?"

"Of course!" The other girl exited the tent. Alone, Maria rose her torso, folding a leg under her while bending the other so she could rest her arms on her knee. She let out a long sigh, and then got up.

* * *

"We'll need to hold the town we defended the other day," Colonel Roy Messner said, his hands standing on both sides of the map spread over the front of the _Panzer_ IV that was the heart of the Baderberg _Panzer_ Squadron. Maria was at his right, and Anja at his left, and both stared at the map, taking in the different details and the concentric topographic lines. "General Wenk wants to keep the corridor open for the remains of the Ninth Army, and some civilians that are escaping to the west with them. We are part of the effort to hold the northern flank for as long as possible."

"I guess defending Berlin is out of the question now." Anja crossed her arms as she said that. Her words weren't a question. Like everyone else, she saw the painting on the wall. The war was beyond lost now, the chance for better terms of peace equally vain, in spite of all the hopes held by the Baderberg girls when they joined the war effort. Even so, Messner worded his next sentence as if it was an answer.

"Berlin has all but fallen, _Fräulein_ Köningsberg. The defenders are making what they can to hold out, but the Soviets…" his voice trailed off for a moment, his nerve faltering for an instant. "There is nothing we can do for them. But we can still help our countrymen from the Ninth. Who knows what the Soviets will do to them if they're captured?"

"So, one desperate battle after the other. No chances of victory, and an overwhelming enemy." Anja turned to Maria, a caustic grin forming on her face. "Seems like more of the same to me."

On the other hand, the commander of the tank squadron was a little more somber, her brown eyes scanning the map. Around them and the tank, the rest of Anglerfish Team and some of the battalion's officers and NCOs gathered to observe the briefing. After the engagement near Felgentreu, the small town they were now being asked to entrench themselves in, the 77th _Panzergrenadiers_ had been posted in the nearby woods. No one was really surprised with them being sent into the fire once again, but it was still troubling. The war was all but over, and yet many of them were still being asked to die for small, maybe pointless, gains.

"The town is a deathtrap," Maria said, her voice low but understandable. "If we only managed to dig in around these hills…"

"There is no time, _Fräulein_ Nitzschmann," Messner retorted. "I would have preferred to do that, too. Dig trenches around here, where my men would be in the range of our own AT guns, and your tanks could maneuver between these patches of woodland. But we have no time. As far as we know the enemy might be advancing towards the town as we speak. And we cannot allow them to take the streets, or we will have to flush them out, something we simply don't have the resources to do."

"So, it's all about hunkering in and hoping for the best."

"In a way. Nothing so prosaic, to be honest, but I gather that things being as they are, we have better chances inside the town than outside it. Our comrades in Monte Cassino managed to hold off against air raids and artillery barrages because of the cover the rubble provided."

Upon hearing those words, Maria sighed. She got dragged into that whole ordeal in order to save her friends from drying in case something terrible happened along the way to the deliver the tanks to the front. In the end their fates got intertwined with those of the men from the 77th. They had fought and even died to protect that hodgepodge mix of traumatized teenagers and tired old men, led by officers who were basically falling from exhaustion where they stood.

Yet, the stakes seemed to only get higher as time passed by. Now the battle to save Berlin had turned into a frantic race to save as much of the encircled 9th Army as possible. The Soviets had for all intents and purposes already taken the capital of the Reich. According to Messner's words, battle raged on in the streets of the city, and the leadership hid deep in the bunker built under the Reichstag. Any hope of conditional surrendering was lost. But lives could still be saved, although she couldn't really tell if the cost was worth it.

"Maria? Maria!"

Anja's voice got to her through the haze of her digression. Maria raised her head as if she had just awakened from a nap and turned to her second-in-command. Both she and Messner were eyeing her with concern.

"You still with us?" Anja asked.

"Yes," Maria mumbled. "What's the matter?"

"Well, we were just talking about how tactically problematic our situation is," Anja replied. "We have limited people and supplies, for one." She turned toward Messner. "How do we avoid being surrounded by the Soviets?"

As she made the question, Fuery, now a captain, gave a step forward. He leaned over Anja, so he could move his hand over the map.

"We actually had that into consideration. The units we will be facing will most probably come from the southeast, as that is the main vector of attack of the Red Army in general. We will post our AT guns on these trees to the west to dissuade any attempt of envelopment. A few machinegun teams should be enough to defend them, as the enemy will have to either focus on the town or the guns. Either way they will lose time."

"So, it's all about gaining time, huh? We just have to hold on until the last of us is dead, or did high-command came up with something more imaginative?"

"The latter," Messner replied. His gaze shifted to Maria once more, before returning to the map. "In two days we'll have reinforcements coming our way."

"That sounds good." Simone was sitting on the radio operator's hatch, glancing down at the briefing. "You know who will they be?"

"Not much to go around, _Fräulein_ Tammeke," Messner said. Then he glanced at Maria. "It will be the 504th Heavy _Panzer_. Assuming they manage to get here."

"The SS…" Anja spouted, although she closed her mouth shut when she noticed the look in Maria's eyes.

The 504th Heavy _Panzer_ Battalion was among the best units still operational in the German military at that point of the war. It was equipped with some of the last heavy tanks produced by the German industry and had a fame for being ruthless and efficient. But even they had suffered, and in spite of its name the unit could barely be called a battalion, maybe a collection of incomplete companies still vowing to fight to the bitter end. It also belonged to the dreaded _Waffen_ -SS, the _Schutzstaffel_ , protection troops of the regime, which now became the most fanatical defenders at its death throes.

Maria's brother, Marco, was a captain in that unit, and their last meeting, in the battlefield around Leipzig, had left her and the rest of her team perturbed. Still, having some support in that operation was better than being all on their own.

"Well, at least we'll get to see your brother again if we're lucky," Simone gushed, her grin widening. It was enough to make Maria's semblance brighten slightly.

"I guess. We can use their heavy guns, isn't that so, _Herr_ Messner?"

"They will come in handy, indeed," the colonel replied. "Especially given that we might face a lot of Soviet armor. You saw in the last battle that they are using anything able to move, so it's nigh impossible to predict what they will throw at us, although T-34s and Iosef Stalins will probably be among the mix."

Upon hearing the names of the tanks, Ysabelle, who was standing in the loader's hatch while listening to the briefing, propped herself forward so the others would notice her. "For what I know the T-34s are small, but their armor may shrug off the lighter rounds. The IS are more concerning."

"They are," Fuery said. "Heavy armor and a main gun twice the size of anything we have. Not looking forward to it."

"Nothing's invincible," Maria declared, her attention moving back to the map. Now that the conversation was moving forth her mind started to function better. Pulling from the theoretical knowledge she had gathered from her father and his books, and from the experience gained during the last month, she tried to make sense of their tactical situation. There wasn't much to go with, though.

"What if they attack us from the north?" she asked Messner.

"Doubtful, as they are throwing everything north of us into Berlin. Furthermore, the terrain favors attacks from the southeast. If they do try to come from the north, then that will only bring them closer to the Heavy _Panzers_."

"Assuming we manage to hold their advance, that will only make them get caught between our two forces."

"Indeed."

"However, that still brings up the problem of being able to hold them out of the town. If we cannot dig in on the outskirts, then our only chance is to use the town as a fortress." Maria held her chin while she thought for a second about it. "What if we use collapsing lines?"

"What?" Simone and Anja queried. Messner, though, got the idea.

"I was thinking about that exactly. We form concentric lines of defense and when we're unable to hold, we pull back to the next one."

Maria nodded in agreement. "If the enemy stumbles, though, we can move forth and reoccupy the position, forcing the Soviets to react to us at all times."

A momentary silence followed, before Anja started tapping the mudguard of the tank. "That's all fine and good, but I spoke with Aschenbrenner before, and we don't have that much fuel left. We'll have to spread it evenly among the tanks, and when it's over, it's over."

"No way around it. The tanks will be mobile pillboxes in this."

"I feel our chances just keep dwindling…" Meike was propped on her driver's hatch, her chin on her arms. She seemed even gloomier than the usual.

"Don't start being defeatist now, Meike!" Simone retorted. "We're still here and we still have Mariechen with us! She'll come up with something."

The last member of Anglerfish Team, Hanna Opel, was standing near the front of the tank, just a step away from Maria, with her hands behind her back and scrapping the dirt with the tip of her shoe. "That is true," she said, "I trust Maria. You've brought us this far."

Looking over her shoulder, Maria looked at the Prussian girl, who flashed her a soft comforting smile. Deep down, she was surprised her friends still had such faith in her. Maria could only think of her performance thus far as laughable, at best. She had been stumbling her way across the battlefield, and people had lost their lives because of her mistakes. Then again, she had made other decisions that got some positive results.

The charge against the British paratroopers had saved the 77th and put them on their current path. The snap decisions during the engagement with the Americans further helped Messner's command and saved most of the squadron. Finally, trusting Martin over the advices of her own people had guaranteed their survival in the last battle.

Maybe they were right in trusting her, maybe they were wrong, but the truth was that she had to meet that conviction and make it work somehow. So, she bit her lip and tried to think on something normal military commanders wouldn't, something that would surprise even the experienced Soviet troops.

When the idea formed in her mind, she almost cast it aside on the spot, but then contemplated what it could mean. Finally, Maria eyed Anja.

"Anja, how maneuverable is the _Hetzer_?" she asked the other girl.

"It is light and has a good engine. Why?"

As she was finishing her question, Maria turned her attention back Messner. "We could have the tanks hunkered on the first line of defense, on the outskirts of the town, here. Two on each side. When we push back the first time, we could move them around, through the center, so the Soviets don't really know what they're dealing with."

"Two on each side?"

"Yes, the fifth element will be Turtle Team," Maria's finger moved across the map, out of the set of squares and lines that represented Felgentreu. "It will be loose, out of the regular lines of defense." Then her eyes moved back to Anja. "You will be moving on your own accord, ambushing the Soviets, making their life as miserable as possible."

It took the other girl a moment to realize what Maria was asking of her, but then it dawned on her, a mischievous grin spreading from one ear to the other.

"I like the way you think."

Messner was much less impressed. "Do not forget our fuel shortage, Nitzschmann," he stated.

"I'm not. The rest of the squadron will take only enough fuel to do what I've said. The rest will be diverted to Turtle Team." Now that she was talking out loud, Maria's plan started to make sense in her head. It also made her grow confident, given how excited her friends seemed with the perspective. " _Herr_ Messner, you need to realize that all of our defensive strategy is something that the Soviets may either predict or learn about as soon as they engage. But if Turtle Team is out there, then that may give the enemy enough of a pause to make a difference."

Ysabelle also seemed to be warming up to the plan. She leaned forward, now with most of her body out of the hatch and her hands over the gun mantle. "Oh, and we can ask _Herr_ Aschenbrenner to find some more fuel. He may find a way!"

"It is not a bad plan," Messner held his chin as he gazed at the map one final time. "We're running out of time, anyhow, and your unconventional tactics have worked well in the past. Let's do that."

The girls nodded, and Messner proceeded to wrap the map. "Go inform the rest of the personnel," he said, his words meant for everyone around them, and not only the tankers. "I want all squad leaders and tank commanders in the command tent in twenty. We are to roll out in two hours. Now, let's move!"

The officers and the sergeants immediately walked away to pass on what transpired of the briefing.

"Inform your crew," Maria told Anja, "I'll tell the others."

The other girl made what passed for a very relaxed salute. "Got it."

Then the commander of the tank squadron turned to her own crew. "Ready the _Panzer_. I'll be right back."

As she turned to walk away, Simone jumped to the ground and joined her.

"You mind if I tag along?" she asked. "This guy is good to go, and I would like to see how the others are doing?"

"All right." Truth be told, Maria would truly enjoy some company when dealing with the rest of the squadron. Although she had known most of them for just a few weeks, even a few days, she already felt a connection with all of the tankers, and even some of the grenadiers fighting alongside them. Maybe it was because they were all in the same boat, facing the same odds. Even so, her natural shyness still lingered, and even though she felt close to her comrades, a barrier remained that she felt she would never overcome. Thus, Simone proposing to accompany her was a welcome sign of friendship.

The two girls smiled at each other and went into the woods to talk to their comrades about the incoming ordeal.


	3. Teenage Wastelands

III

TEENAGE WASTELANDS

Sergeant Martin Navrátilová couldn't believe that was happening again. Looking right into the depths of the open engine compartment of the large Porsche Tiger tank, he observed the busted plugs. He was completely aware that the massive war machine was terribly unreliable, but that was getting ridiculous. Hössler had gone to other side of the clearing to see if the crew of the _Hetzer_ had some spare wrench. If they didn't find a way to solve that issue they could have to face the prospect of leaving the Tiger behind once the battalion started moving again. The whole idea was grating to him, especially given the difference the massive 88mm main gun had made during the last engagement against the Soviets.

"I think the turret mechanism is working again."

Sulzberger's voice made Martin look up, to the turret. The gunner had half of his body out of the commander's hatch and looked down at the young sergeant.

"What about the ammunition racks?"

"The rounds are still falling off," Sulzberger replied, waving his right hand, clenched around a screwdriver. Powerful as it was, the Tiger was plagued by an endless series of mechanical issues, being those that concerned the engine and other moving parts the most common. But having even the ammo racks inside the hull coming off just like that was certainly odd and added little to Martin's confidence. "Can't I have Tjessen help me with this?"

The mention to the tank's driver made Martin grimace. The young driver had had a difficult time lately, forced to drive that capricious monster under actual combat circumstances, and then to deal with the constant breakdowns that plagued the big machine. He deserved a little rest.

"Let him sleep for now, all right?"

The gunner sighed. "I'll see what I can do."

With those words, Sulzberger disappeared back into the turret. Martin sighed and looked around. The 77th _Panzergrenadiers_ and the attached Panzer squadron still hadn't returned to the village where they made camp almost a week ago. Instead they remained hidden in the woods near the town of Felgentreu, the small collection of buildings they had defended just a few days ago. That was both because of the omnipresence of the enemy air force, which attacked anything they saw moving on open ground, and because General Wenck wanted someone near the town in case something happened.

Now the assortment of vehicles and men was spread across a wide area of woodland, with tents and tarps stretched here and there, in what resembled a proper military encampment, and that should be hidden from prying eyes by the dense canopy above.

 _We're like an irregular force now_ , Martin thought.

As he scanned his surroundings he noticed the two girls approaching his tank. They were both slender and pale, with light-brown hair. The one to his right her longer hair, though, and grinned confidently, while the other one had a somber expression and tired eyes. Martin's glance descended on the later as the pair stopped beside the Tiger.

 _It isn't easy to lead, now is it, Maria?_

"Mind if we climb up?" Maria Nitzschmann asked, trying to smile as she did so.

"Of course not." He leaned forward and extended an arm to help the girl climb up, and then proceeded to help Simone Tammeke join them around the open engine cover.

"How's it going?"

"Some plugs are busted. _Fraülein_ Ackerman managed to get something we can use, but Hössler went to find a matching wrench." Martin pointed at the turret behind him with his thumb. "We're also having some issues with that. Hopefully we'll be able to solve them quickly."

"How quickly?" Maria now glanced directly at Martin. There was an urgency in her eyes he found worrisome. "The _Oberst_ has received new orders. We'll be moving in back to Felgentreu tonight."

The unasked question could very well have been yelled at Martin's ear. He felt his stomach freeze as he connected the dots.

"Maybe in two hours we'll have everything ready," he said. The very notion of having to remain behind because of some malfunction while the girls went to war made him throb inside. He wanted to be there with them when everything went south.

"I'm glad to know that," Maria said, a slight grin brightening her features. She tapped the flank of the huge vehicle under them. "We need Leopon, and we need you."

There was a certain warmth to those words, in spite of Maria's weary tone.

"I'll make sure we'll be there."

"Thank you." The girl smiled faintly and nodded at Martin's words. "I'll check on the other crews. You're coming, Simone?"

Tammeke flashed a wider grin at her friend. Obviously, her spirit hadn't broken just yet, and she did her best to keep herself, and the others, afloat.

"I'll join you in minute, Mariechen!"

Maria nodded, and then climbed down from the tank, moving away towards the other vehicles. While she did that, Simone moved her gaze back to Martin, who studied her, knowing very well how unprepared he was for whatever she was about to say.

"So, when are you going to make your move?" she asked him. Although he knew of her mischievousness, her question still left him dumbfounded, and for a few seconds he stood in silence, unsure about what she was trying to get at.

"What do you mean, _Fräulein_ Tammeke?"

The girl's grin stood in place, and she rose a finger to underline her point. "Why, you know there is already a line in place for Mariechen's heart, now do you? Starting with _Unteroffizier_ Jäger, and going all way up to… well, I'm not really sure." She winked at Martin. "All I know is that Maria got the attention of some of the boys, and you need to step up your game if you want to compete."

Feeling flustered all of a sudden, Martin looked away.

"I'm not competing on anything, _Fäulein_."

Now the expression on the girl's face wavered slightly, but the enthusiasm seemed to return as quickly.

"Well, suit yourself."

Simone started to climb down from the tank, but then she stopped, one foot on the track, and turned toward Martin.

"She trusts you, you know? After that trick you pulled on the other day, I think even Anja is warming up to you now. For one, I am grateful for what you did."

"We just did our job."

"I know. I also know that once this is over with, Mariechen will need someone to take care of her." For the first time during the whole conversation, Simone's grin faded from her face. "These last few weeks have taken a toll on her. It may not seem so, but she's reaching her limit."

"They have taken a toll on all of us," Martin replied. In all truth, he had noticed how worn Maria was a few days ago, especially after the last battle, when the horrors of the regime they were fighting for, unwillingly or otherwise, became patent. The poor girl had broken down in tears, but still she soldiered on. The thought made him recall how Corporal Jäger had embraced her lean body, and for some reason he felt a pang of jealously.

 _Damn it, there is a reason women aren't allowed in the battlefield_ , he thought.

"I'm aware of that," Simone said. "But Maria has got the attention of a few of the men, and I want her to get the best of them in the end."

Now Martin swallowed thickly. The implied compliment made his cheeks grow hot.

"And that would be me?"

The enthusiasm from before returned to Simone's face, and she winked at the tank commander.

"If the cap fits."

Martin shook his head, for a moment too embarrassed to say anything. Then something else came to his mind.

"If I am that good, then why aren't you in the line to get, say, me?"

The girl's grin grew wider. "Well, my dear, I've seen Maria's brother with these two eyes of mine. I have my sights on that prize! But you think about what I've said."

Then she jumped to the ground and walked away. Dumbfounded with the strange conversation, Martin simply stared at her while she moved away. He was only pulled out of is dazzle when Sulzberger's voice erupted from somewhere behind him.

"Gosh, women sure are scary," the gunner said.

Looking over his shoulder, Martin saw him with half of his torso out of the commander's hatch, staring at Simone.

"You can say that again…"

It took Martin a moment to notice that both of them had their eyes locked onto Simone's backside. Very inappropriate for proper German soldiers. He sprung to his feet and gestured at the gunner.

"Now get back to work, Sulzberger! We have less than two hours to get this damned thing ready!"

Alarmed by his tone, Sulzberger saluted and dropped back into the turret. Finally alone for a few seconds, Martin contemplated their situation once more. Most of the 77th _Panzergrenadiers_ and all of the Baderberg Tank Squadron, was composed of hormone-ridden teenagers, already falling apart at the seams due to the sheer emotional weight of the hell they were going through.

Yet, Simone's words still managed to put a seed of doubt in Martin's mind. His thoughts went momentarily back to Maria, and his heart ran a little faster as a result.

 _Step up my game_ , the young sergeant thought, _what for?_

* * *

"I don't agree with this!"

"You don't have to agree with anything, you dummy! You're not the one in charge!"

Erwin crossed his arms and glared at Anja, who kept staring daggers at him, her hands on her hips. Night had already fallen, and the vehicles were lined at the edge of the forest. The crews conversed and made the final adjustments before the operation started. Some also used the moment to discuss some final details of what was about to happen, which was exactly Erwin's intention.

He had heard from Maria about the aim to use the _Hetzer_ as a loose element of the _Panzer_ Squadron, in order to keep the enemy out of balance, and even then he didn't want to believe that was actually the plan. It seemed insane, and in his mind an unnecessary risk for Anja and her crew. Especially Anja.

"I'm just saying that it sounds like a really bad idea," he stressed.

"Do you have a better idea?" Anja queried.

The boy pouted, using a finger to raise the peak of his Afrika Korps-style hat. His blue eyes shifted from the girl for a moment, before returning to meet her gaze.

"It is too risky," he muttered. His tone might have touched the Anja somehow, because her expression softened a little.

"We wouldn't be safer in the town either, Erwin," she said, crossing her arms. "Actually, I think we are getting the easier job, as we will have the freedom to move around, while you…" her voice trailed off, but it was obvious now that she was concerned.

The softening of her posture wasn't something Erwin was really counting on. It was of no use to even try to fool himself. The boy was in love, and for the most part it had been Anja's combative spirit that had made him care for her even when they were just fooling around in the fields of Baderberg.

Were those days just a month ago, really? They felt like they happened in another life entirely.

Swallowing thickly, Erwin looked to the StuG III idling just a few meters away. Tamara was sitting over the front of the assault vehicle, overtly trying to check on how their conversation was going. She waved at Erwin, to prompt him to say something else.

"We will be stuck in that town as it is demolished around us," Erwin said, finishing Anja's sentence. She frowned, annoyed that he would be emphasizing the situation so nonchalantly in spite of her obvious distress. Then he grinned. "What's so different from the other times, Köningsberg? We've come through, didn't we?"

"We have been lucky," Anja replied, raising a finger. Then she glanced over her shoulder, to the _Panzer_ IV. Maria was there, standing on the engine cover, talking with her crew. "And we have Maria. She has been able to adapt, and she knows the tanks. She knows how to defeat them, but…" She inhaled deeply. "We're committed now, Erwin. And the men from the Ninth need us."

Truth be told, regardless of Erwin's opinion about the plan, it was already too late to change it. Furthermore, even if the war was beyond lost now, there were still lives which could be saved if they simply acted. He sighed and crossed his arms.

"Just be careful and keep an eye on your flanks, Köningsberg."

What happened next surprised him to no end: Anja smiled. She didn't show that crooked confident grin of hers, nor that combative glare he had fallen for. Instead she smiled warmly.

"You can call me Anja, you know?"

Erwin's grin grew wider. "What's the fun of that?"

Keeping on her streak of surprises, the girl let out a short laugh.

"Just be careful in there, will you?"

The boy made a mock salute, his own grin unwavering. "You know me."

There was no more to be said, really. Their time was over, too. In the head of the group, Maria was waving, and a sergeant yelled for everyone to get in line.

"You heard the man," Anja chirped. "Go!"

Erwin touched his forehead with his index and middle finger, in a mockery of a military salute, and turned away, to go back to the StuG. Half way through, though, he looked back over his shoulder. A jolt of emotion ran through his chest as he noticed Anja had done the same. The two teenagers immediately looked the other way, trying their best to ignore what they had just noticed.

A thought flickered on Erwin's mind, an idea about what life would be like on a farm in the middle of nowhere with that irreverent girl beside him. But it went away as soon as it came, shaken by the urgency of the moment and Erwin's unwillingness to commit himself completely to that feeling. He was a strong young man, he told himself, no time to think of settling in yet. Furthermore, there was this sense of impending doom, which was making him feel terribly uncomfortable. Maybe it was the reality of the situation finally getting a hold of him, quashing the courage he believed to have had beforehand.

All around, engines revved and poured dark smoke into the night, and men yelled to put their people in motion. On the StuG, Caesar and Killian were peering with their heads and shoulders out of the hatches, while Tamara leaned over the glacis, to extend a hand to the commander.

"So, how did that go?" Caesar queried, grinning wolfishly.

"That's nothing of your business," Erwin retorted, while he climbed to the vehicle with Tamara's help. "Also, why didn't you go talk to Nitzschmann? You realize you have strong contesters now?"

The other boy frowned and looked away, while Killian and Tamara chuckled.

"I haven't found the opportunity to talk to her again, that's all," Caesar muttered.

"In love and war everything's permitted, Caesar, and I guarantee you there are no points for the second place."

"Oh, and have you been doing everything at your reach to have sweet Anja's heart, Erwin?" Killian scolded, holding his face on his hands as he addressed his friend.

"What do you mean with that?" His own doubts notwithstanding, Erwin would never allow the other boys to berate him like that. He was the leader of the gang, so it wasn't proper. "You should notice how much she has warmed to me!"

As she noticed the conversation starting to steer out of control, Tamara raised her hands, placing herself between the two boys.

"All right, children," the teenager girl told her friends, "you can talk that out after we're on the move, but now we have to get going."

She was right, of course. Erwin straightened and observed the rest of the tank squadron rolling gracelessly out of the forest.

"Right," he said. "Let's get moving, then. It's going to be a long night."

Tamara grinned in approval, and then disappeared into her hatch. The two other boys stared at each other for a moment, unsure if they should obey or grate their commander for a while longer.

"What are you doing?" Erwin snapped at them. "Move!"

Caesar and Killian chuckled, amused by his temper, before deciding that would be enough for now.


	4. The March to War

IV

THE MARCH TO WAR

The tanks were moving in the night. Eren Jäger checked his watch, to see if it was already time. He had moved into the town along with the forward elements of the 77th _Panzergrenadiers_ just after dusk. Fortunately, there had been no Soviets there at the time, but they did find some civilians, the few who had not vacated the area when the fighting started a few days prior. Apparently, they had not realized the whole area was about to become a huge battlefield, or, more probably, they did not really care. Some people were devoted to the idea of dying where they had lived, while others hoped the storm would pass by without harming them. The grenadiers told these people to hide and pray, and then started digging their foxholes around the town.

As the works went on, Captain Havoc told Eren and his squad to move to the fields west of the town to scout the area and link with the tank squadron as soon as it reached the perimeter. After an hour or so a couple of tanks did appear, but Eren wasn't sure it was the girls. For one, neither he nor his companions noticed from where they came from. It certainly had not been from the woodlands, where the rest of the unit had taken shelter for the past few days.

The watch on his wrist was a prize, something he had taken from the body of an Allied aviator back in Holland, and the arms had a faint glow to them, which allowed him to assess the time even in the dark. The time was about right, the girls were indeed about to move into the town, but those units up ahead couldn't be them. Maybe those were enemy scouts, or a forward unit sent to prevent movements into the town. If that was the case, then they were already late.

Up ahead, the unknown tanks turned to face the forest, their backs against Eren's squad. To Eren's frustration, he did not have any antitank weapon with his squad, but still needed to do something about those vehicles. If they were indeed enemies, then they would be right in the way of Maria and her companions.

"Would you look at that," Armin whispered. He was lying beside Eren, and could also see, and especially hear, the tanks. "What do we do?"

Eren contemplated the situation for a moment. Then he turned to Armin. "You have the flares?"

The other grenadier reached for his belt and raised the ugly form of a flare gun. "What do you have in mind?"

"The girls should be about to arrive," Eren replied, cocking his head slightly. "We need to let them know about those two jokers over there." Then he turned back, to the rest of the squad. "Connie, go warn the captain that we've already found enemy units. Tell him to warn our tanks."

The young grenadier nodded in acknowledgment, before moving away, back to the town.

"What about us?" Armin queried, the attention of the whole group returning to the Soviet tanks. "Those two should have some support of their own."

"If they're not stupid." Eren gestured towards his remaining companions. "Mount the machinegun there and spread out. If there are Ivans out there I don't want them to take us out easily."

The grenadiers did as they were told. Then Eren glanced one more time at his watch. In the distance, a loud rumbling erupted from the woodlands, barely audible over the growling of the tanks nearby, which he was now sure to be enemy units.

"Maria and the others should be about to arrive," Eren told Armin, who remained by his side, flare gun in hand. "But I don't want us to rush in without knowing what is ahead of us either."

"It would be foolish, especially if there are enemy troops hidden out there."

Hearing his friend talking like that made Eren scan his darkened surroundings, looking for some form of suspicious movement, but he saw nothing. Were the enemy tankers actually dumb or overconfident enough to advance without support? Or was the Soviet infantry that good in staying hidden?

He could not tell, and that made him nervous. More so when he imagined Maria and the others could very soon find themselves forced to fight their way into the town. All he could do was to provide some small help and infantry support. His eyes drifted into the patch of darkness that was the woodlands.

"They will make it," he heard Armin say. "They always do."

Eren spared him an aside glance. His friend tried to sound confident, but he was also nervous. Keen as he was, he was certainly aware of the implications of a tank engagement under those conditions.

" _Ja_ …" He glanced at the rest of his fire team, and then back at Armin. "And even if we all fail, we can at least warn the others and gain them some time."

Gain some time… Was that all their strategy had reverted back to? Long gone were the great offensives that almost had brought the world to its knees. Just a few months ago the German military had attempted to break the Allies in the Ardennes, and albeit the Department of Information tried to play down what truly transpired there, the truth was out for everyone to see. Eren still wanted to stop the bastards who had bombed German cities, but now even his hatred seemed to be dwindling down as he became increasingly tired.

Then there was Maria, that extraordinary girl who commanded the tank squadron. Eren felt butterflies on his stomach just by thinking about her, her pretty pale face and warm brown eyes. Yet, he had only got glimpses of her ever since she returned from the ill-fated fight against the Soviets, a few days ago. He could still feel her slender body shaking against his chest, the sensation of his lips against her hair, and the warmth that came out of her. The mere recollection made him shiver and desire to be with her, embrace her, and protect her from the evils of the world.

But she was out there, inside a thin metal shell that could be broken apart by almost everything on the battlefield. Eren discovered that the perspective of her death was much scarier than his own.

There was no point in thinking about the issue. Not now. Tired as he was from defending Germany, Eren found he still had more than enough energy to stand by the comrades who had come to shed blood and tears alongside him, men and girls alike. To hell with justice and all of that nonsense. He would fight, and he would die if he had to, for his friends, if nothing else.

So, he turned to Armin and said: "Time to see what's out there, right?"

The blond boy nodded and raised the flare gun. "Here it goes…"

He inhaled deeply and then depressed the trigger. The gun popped and then the flare went streaking upwards, before bursting into a blinding light that turned night into day.

"Get ready," Eren said as he rose over the edge of the depression to see what was out there. He almost flinched as he saw several men in green uniforms laying over the ground south of the tanks. He gritted his teeth as his mind rushed to act, do something. The Kar98K rifle holstered around his shoulder seemed too heavy to allow him a proper reaction, so he reached for the Luger he had carried with him since Leipzig, and drew it, pointing it at the general direction of the Soviet soldiers. "Suppressing fire!"

The Luger fired once, and then twice, and then the trigger refused to budge for the third shot. Eren looked at the pistol, for a moment refusing to accept that it would jam just after two measly shots. Then the Spandau to his left started to roar manically, slashing the air with the occasional meteors of tracer rounds. The young corporal shucked the Luger to the holster and raised the Mauser, chambered in a round and fired at the nearest Soviet soldier, without really aiming the shot.

Then he dropped to the edge of the depression and gave a quick look around to assess the situation. The Soviets did have with them the supporting infantry he suspected to be there, covered by the dark of the night. Around him, his men fired at the enemy, hoping the sheer volume of fire would force them to at least keep their heads low and not try anything funny. But there ought to be at least thirty Ivans out there, and he only had seven men, counting with himself. Up ahead one of the T-34s started to turn the turret to face the German platoon. They now relied on the girls to be punctual and have the tanks there in the next couple minutes, or Eren and his squad would be done for.

Meanwhile, the flare in the sky was starting to fade.

"Armin, pop out another one!" Eren yelled at this friend.

Almost comically, he contemplated the unique conundrum of combined arms warfare he found himself in. Once again, he had to rely on the girls to complete the task.

Bet he trusted Maria and was starting to get comfortable with the idea that he would always do so.

* * *

When she went into the fighting compartment to check on her crew, Maria was immediately assaulted by a myriad of intense sensations. The stench of burnt oil and fuel bore through her nostrils and mouth, making her throat and lungs ache. It was accompanied by the odors of the five human bodies inside: sweat, blood and fear. Curious how women could smell as bad as men if put through the same ordeals.

At the same time, the rumbling noise of the Maybach engine bounced around the fighting compartment of that cramped metal hull, forcing the crewmembers to yell so they could understand each other, even though they were so closely packed together around the gun and the transmission. The vehicle shook as it moved, rocking the girls where they stood.

Even worse was the certainty that they would soon face enemy units and be forced to either kill other people or get killed if they failed to do so. All they had to rely on was each other, and Maria was keenly aware of that as she looked around the fighting compartment. She could only see the silhouettes of the girls in the dark, but they were there, she knew it, and they replied to her when she asked if everyone was all right.

"I'm nervous," Ysabelle replied in a faint voice.

"This actually feels like our first battle all over again," Hanna said. Maria could feel, more than see, her leaning over the scope, trying to get any glimpse of what was going on through that narrow field of view.

"I'll agree with that," Simone retorted, turning over her seat to look at the turret crew. "All dark and no idea where the enemy is."

"Just remain calm," Maria told them. Her gaze drifted to the left-hand side, where the driver was. "Meike, are you doing fine?"

"Trying to concentrate," the short raven-haired girl uttered. "We're about to leave the trees."

"Got it." In spite of the latent fear, there was something almost cozy about being there, surrounded by her friends. That tank was a home of sorts, and she was starting to notice that strange calm she felt in the fleeting moments before a battle. There the nightmares wouldn't come after her, neither would the uncertainties about the horrors Germany's regime had brought upon the world. There was only her, her comrades, and the need to survive. The call of the Great Hunting run through her veins, washing away the fear and making her feel eerily alive.

Was that how her brother felt? Or was she going insane?

The latter thought flickered more strongly in her mind when suddenly light flew into the combat compartment, and her companions emerged from the evanescent darkness. They all were young and scared but looked up to her with staunchness. Maybe it was ill-placed, but she would honor that commitment.

Then Simone spoke and made her realize she wasn't hallucinating.

"What's that light?"

The sound of gunfire came right after, barely audible over the purring of the engine.

"Contact," Maria replied as she pulled her upper body out of the hatch, meeting the cold air of the night illuminated by the ephemeral artificial star. The four vehicles had already cleared the trees and were advancing in a line over the grass fields around the town. Up ahead, highlighted by the flare's light and the underbrush behind them, were two doghouse-shaped T-34s. The one to the right had its turret almost entirely turned the other way, while the one to the left was aiming straight ahead.

Behind both vehicles, the night was erupting in small weapons fire, with tracer rounds flying over the grassland, and occasional explosions marking the throwing of grenades. Maria gritted her teeth. It was not supposed to be any fighting before dawn, but it seemed that, once again, all planning had gone out of the window as soon as the operation began.

The main gun of the T-34 to the left burst in flames as it fired. The shell landed among the advancing German tanks, forming a volcano of dirt and smoke.

"Tell the others to halt! And to load their guns," Maria yelled at her mike. Simone relayed the order and the entire formation stopped, forming an uneven line. Meanwhile, the bright star up in the sky flickered one last time before vanishing entirely, drowning the world into darkness once more. The world stood dark, the cackling of the firearms echoing across the grassland, and the town and the woodlands, punctuated by the fiery flashes that accompanied the noise. Then a swooshing sound emerged from the cacophony, and again the sky erupted in bright light, making the two groups of armored vehicles clearly visible in the open ground.

"Open fire!" Maria screamed at the top of her lungs. Again, Simone relayed the orders to the other vehicles.

Because she heard the orders first, Hanna fired before everyone else. Ysabelle had already fed the 7,5cm KwK 40 main gun a shell, and it burst in fire and thunder as the gunner depressed the trigger. The armor-piercing round flying straight and true, hitting the T-34 in the center of the wedge-shaped glacis. At the start of the war, the frontal armor of the small but powerful Soviet tank had been enough to stop most anti-tank weapons available to the German Army, shrugging away hit after hit to the horror of its enemies. But at this stage of the conflict, and at that short of a distance, it was simply not able to withstand the punishment. The round punched through steel, going all the way into the tank's innards.

The rest of the squadron fired a couple of seconds later, each vehicle discharging its weapons alternately, depending on how quickly the crews slammed fresh rounds into the breeches and aimed the guns. The result was an uneven barrage, as four weapons came alive and thunder reverberated over the landscape. Rabbit Team's 75mm gun hurled a shell southward, far away from the enemy tanks, as Saskia Münchberg failed to wait for the driver, Constanze Kaulitz, to turn the tank to aim the hull-mounted weapon. The shell exploded into the grass, raising smoke and dirt into the air. The commander, Augusta Sauer, screamed as she reloaded and fired the turret-mounted 37mm, landing a round in-between the two Soviet machines.

The StuG III of Hippo Team had no luck either, the round kicking the mud to the left of the enemy tanks, to Erwin's frustration.

Inside Leopon's turret, Hössler took a moment longer to aim carefully, and when the 88mm gun came alive, the shell went right into the front of the T-34 to the left, punching all the way through. The hit must have hit the ammo stored inside, because right afterwards a pillar of fire made the turret jump into the air, and them tumble down into the ground to the tank's right.

The whole inferno was over under five seconds, but to Maria all moments seemed to last for a small eternity as the rounds flew, failing and hitting, the fear that the enemy could react and hit one of her crews rustling just under her calm façade. But in the end, her people had won the engagement, allowing her to release her breath. Another five seconds passed, and then the firefight to the south picked up again as darkness descended back onto the world as the flare dissipated.

"Should we go there?" Simone queried.

"No. Tell everyone to go north and then move in an arc to the south, with us on the swiveling point. No point in exposing ourselves to their fire."

Deep down, Maria feared the Soviets could have some sort of light anti-tank weapon. The squadron moved clumsily in the dark as it performed the maneuver, the vehicles dragging behind, or advancing too quickly, forcing Maria to bark orders in quick succession to compensate, and Simone to pass the word on as she could. In the end, though, they managed to form a line and move southwards, behind the destroyed Soviet tanks. By this point, the third flare died out, as did the firefight itself.


End file.
